[NABS-L] Question About Sleep When Trying to study

[Romack, Justin]

I would be very eager to read others’ feedback on this…

I struggled (and continue to have difficulty) with staying awake while reading… and didn’t have this same difficulty when I had eyesight. I lost my eyesight in 2008 (as a junior in college) and am now almost 40 and in graduate school. The reading is intense and, more often than not, I struggle with fatigue in heavy reading situations.

I think cognitive load plays a part… You have to carry more information reading nonvisually than you do when reading with eyesight because so much of visual reading is about context, orientation and cues. We don’t always have this same feedback when listening to content. My braille reading is much slower, so while this option keeps me awake, it’s fatiguing for different reasons because it just takes so much longer.

The only reliable trick I’ve found is to take frequent breaks. I read in about 10-15 minute chunks (sometimes more if the content is super engaging) where I get up, walk around, do some push-ups, etc etc for about three minutes. Then I’m back at it.

Again, I would love to hear other’s solutions because this has been a challenge for me, too. 😊

Take care,
J



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Justin Romack, Assistant Director
Disability Resources | Division of Student Affairs
1224 TAMU | College Station, TX 77843-1224

ph: 979.845.1637 | jromack at tamu.edu<mailto:jromack at tamu.edu> | disability.tamu.edu
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From: NABS-L <nabs-l-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Elizabeth Sprecher via NABS-L
Sent: Tuesday, October 22, 2024 11:35 AM
To: National Association of Blind Students mailing list <nabs-l at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Elizabeth Sprecher <elizabeth.sprecher103 at gmail.com>
Subject: [NABS-L] Question About Sleep When Trying to study

Hi all, I wanted to ask about any suggestions to possibly stay awake during the day while studying. I use a screen reader, so I'm wearing headphones all the time, and I'm usually cold where I'm studying, so I have a tendency to wear a coat. 
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Hi all,



I wanted to ask about any suggestions to possibly stay awake during the day

while studying. I use a screen reader, so I'm wearing headphones all the

time, and I'm usually cold where I'm studying, so I have a tendency to wear

a coat.

I'm not sure if my falling asleep might be related to a robotic voice in my

ear, or losing the remainder of my vision, but I did not have this problem

before, and I need to get work done.

In addition to coffee, what suggestions do you have to stay awake during

the day, especially when I'm studying alone, in a comfortable spot? I've

tryed moving towards a window but that didn't really help either.



Thanks

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